The start of free agency is still just over two weeks away. As the NBA Finals come to a close and the league's focus shifts squarely to the offseason, though, Klay Thompson's future with the Golden State Warriors seems more tenuous than ever.
Dub Nation was abuzz on Friday after fans noticed the four-time champion and future Hall-of-Famer had unfollowed the Warriors on Instagram, as first reported by SFGate. Thompson also deleted the vast majority of photos from his profile featuring him in team gear, save a post about late assistant coach Dejan Milojevic and a sponsored one with watch company Tissot.
It bears mentioning that Thompson didn't sever all ties with Golden State on Instagram. He still follows his teammates, for instance, and the first post on his profile features photos of him boating in the San Francisco bay with Chris Paul and Moses Moody. Highlights of Thompson's early offseason training, in which he's wearing Warriors shorts, have also made the internet rounds of late.
Social media activity is fickle. It's absolutely possible that Thompson still plans to return to Golden State despite unfollowing the team's official account and scrubbing most Warriors photos from his profile. As smoke of his possible departure continues swirling leading up to June 30th, though, Thompson's Instagram whims could be all the public gets from the 34-year-old before his free agency decision is made.
Klay Thompson's free agency prospects
Extension talks between Thompson and the Warriors went nowhere during the regular season, with the sides reportedly far away from reaching an agreement. His up-and-down 2023-24 campaign ended on the sourest of notes, with Thompson missing all 10 of his field goal attempts as Golden State was embarrassed by the rival Sacramento Kings in the play-in tournament. Needless to say, that ugly performance surely didn't make the front office more willing to meet his contractual demands.
Still, Steve Kerr, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green all stressed the need to retain Thompson once the Warriors' season came to a close. General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. echoed that sentiment—with some qualifiers, of course—during Golden State's exit interviews with media.
“The guy has been here a long time. He means so much to the organization,” Dunleavy said of Thompson in mid-April. “We really value him, so there's nothing to make me think that he wants to go somewhere else or we don't want him back. And for that reason, I'm hopeful we can make that happen, but you know, it's a deal. Both sides have to be good with it, and we'll work through that.”
Thompson, for his part, elected against addressing free agency during his final media session of the season.
“You know, I really haven’t given it much thought because what I previously just said about the season,” he said. “I really haven’t thought that deep into the future because I still need to process the year we had. It was one filled with ups and downs, but ultimately, we—I personally and our team did everything we could to try and win as many games as we possibly could.”
There's no doubt the Warriors want Thompson back, but at only a certain price. Owner Joe Lacob has made noise about ducking below the luxury tax in 2024-25 after years of lavish extra spending on the roster. While parting ways with Paul's $30 million non-guaranteed deal would amount to major cost-cutting, there's a chance the front office holds onto that salary slot in hopes of using it as financial filler in a potential trade for a star.
Green re-sign with the Dubs last summer for $100 million over four seasons. A three-year contract for Thompson at that same $25 million AAV would seem to make sense for both player and team, especially if Golden State parts ways with Paul. But the Orlando Magic are flush with cap space and need all the shooting they can muster around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, sparking speculation they'd be comfortable overpaying for Thompson on the open market.
There's still a good chance Thompson finishes his illustrious career in the Bay. Money talks, however, and so does the feeling of respect that comes along with it. If Thompson feels he's getting low-balled by the Warriors in contract discussions and has more lucrative options with a playoff like Orlando, he really might have played his last game in blue and gold.
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